SPRINGFIELD - Effingham County head coach Donnie Arrington said his team did not show up to play.

It showed Tuesday night as the Rebels fell to Richmond Hill, 53-30, at home.

"We had no effort, we didn't play hard, we didn't compete," Arrington said. "We talked before the game about not letting other teams come on our court and win - we came out flat, there's no excuses for that.".

The loss drops the Rebels to 5-4 on the season.

Effingham was led in scoring by senior Chase Arrington with 13 points. Arrington shot four of four from the foul line, while the rest of the Rebels shot just five of 12.

Richmond Hill seniors Robbie Bynam and George Greig caused trouble for the Rebels throughout the game.

Bynam posted 20 points on the night, and Greig added 13.

But Richmond Hill head coach William Altman said it was the Wildcats' defense that won them the game.

Coach Arrington said the Wildcats limited Chase Arrington's ability to get the ball.

"We tried to set some ball screens to open Chase up," Arrington said. "But we couldn't get anything."

Arrington said hard work is the only way his team will get back on track.

"We're just gonna work really, really, really hard," he said. "We've gotta do a better job at it by next game."

Big second quarter boosts Lady Wildcats

SPRINGFIELD - A 22-point second quarter propelled the Richmond Hill girls' basketball team to a 54-29 victory Tuesday night at Effingham County.

Lady Wildcat senior Tyler Carlson led all scorers with 15 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc.

Leading only 9-3 after the first quarter, the Richmond Hill offense found its rhythm in the second to take a 31-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The spark came, Lady Wildcat head coach Elizabeth Bennett said, when she put sophomore Alyiah Johnson in the game in the second quarter.

"She came in and got hot," Bennett said. "Her and (Carlson) obviously have chemistry, and we picked it up."

Johnson scored 10 points on the night.

The Lady Rebels fought back and outscored Richmond Hill 11-6 in the third quarter, but it wasn't enough to make up for the large halftime lead.

"It's going to take time and experience to get the girls playing (the way they did in the second half)," Effingham head coach Karl DeMasi said.

The loss drops the Lady Rebels to 3-6 on the season, but DeMasi is not counting his team out yet.

"They're not gonna quit," he said. "It's gonna take some time, but by February we'll be in the right groove. We're taking the right steps."